Instagram has revealed that it is asking its users to add their birthday to the app, claiming the information is necessary to protect young people.
Announced on 30 August, the company said the information was essential for recent restrictions concerning the app’s underage users.
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“We’ve been clear that we want to do more to create safer, more private experiences for young people,” Instagram wrote in a blog post.
“This information allows us to create new safety features for young people, and helps ensure we provide the right experiences to the right age group.”
In July, Instagram announced it would set accounts of under-16 users to private by default.
It has also restricted advertisers to only targeting ads to under-18 users based on their age, gender, and location.
How and when Instagram will ask for your birthday
Going forward, Instagram will ask its users for their birthday when they open the app on their device. It is targeting users who have not already supplied it with this information.
If they do not give these details, they will receive several notifications reminding them to do so.
Eventually, if a user has not supplied their birthday, they will need to do so to continue using Instagram.
Meanwhile, Instagram will begin to ask users to add their birthday before it lets them view sensitive or graphic content.
Previously, when Instagram shields such content, users would just need to tap a button to view it.
Instagram is also developing new technology to find out if users are lying about their age.
“In the future, if someone tells us they’re above a certain age, and our technology tells us otherwise, we’ll show them a menu of options to verify their age,” it explained.
It added the technology is still in early-stage development, though it said it would share more details regarding this soon.
Featured image: Instagram
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